Taxifolin increased semen quality of Duroc boars by improving gut microbes and blood metabolites

Abstract

Taxifolin (TAX), as a natural flavonoid, has been widely focused on due to its strong anti-oxidation, anti-inflammation, anti-virus, and even anti-tumor activity. However, the effect of TAX on semen quality was unknown. The purpose of this study was to analyze the beneficial influences of adding feed additive TAX to boar semen in terms of its quality and potential mechanisms. We discovered that TAX increased sperm motility significantly in Duroc boars by the elevation of the protein levels such as ZAG, PKA, CatSper, and p-ERK for sperm quality. TAX increased the blood concentration of testosterone derivatives, antioxidants such as melatonin and betaine, unsaturated fatty acids such as DHA, and beneficial amino acids such as proline. Conversely, TAX decreased 10 different kinds of bile acids in the plasma. Moreover, TAX increased “beneficial” microbes such as Intestinimonas, Coprococcus, Butyrivibrio, and Clostridium_XlVa at the Genus level. However, TAX reduced the “harmful” intestinal bacteria such as Prevotella, Howardella, Mogibacterium, and Enterococcus. There was a very close correlation between fecal microbes, plasma metabolites, and semen parameters by the spearman correlation analysis. Therefore, the data suggest that TAX increases the semen quality of Duroc boars by benefiting the gut microbes and blood metabolites. It is supposed that TAX could be used as a kind of feed additive to increase the semen quality of boars to enhance production performance.

Selenized glucose improves rat semen quality by improving the gut microbiota and serum metabolome

“…Previous studies have shown that flavonoids could improve the quality of Dulocke boar sperm by increasing the relative abundance of intestinal probiotics. 39 Our results found the same changing trend for those probiotics, such as Intestinimonas , Butyrivibrio , and Coprococcus . Probiotics, as mentioned earlier, can promote the cycle of butyrate to synthesize short-chain fatty acids, some of which may promote spermatogenesis.…”

Effects of Chinese herbal feed additives on the sperm quality and reproductive capacity in breeding boars

“…Hashem et al found that feeding male rabbits with plant extracts significantly enhanced the sperm quality and antioxidant capacity, mainly through high-density lipoprotein transporting cholesterol to the steroid-producing tissue similar to the testis, and eliminating excess low-density lipoprotein through the liver ( 45 ). Zhou and co-workers demonstrated that adding taxifolin (TAX) to the basal diet could improve boar semen quality by increasing sperm motility and sperm concentration ( 46 ). Another study reported that dietary supplementation of antioxidants, such as lysine and L-arginine, could improve sperm quality in boars ( 41 , 42 ).…”

Alginate oligosaccharide extends the service lifespan by improving the sperm metabolome and gut microbiota in an aging Duroc boars model

“…The IHF methods for boar sperm have been reported in our previous articles ( n = 9 per group) ( Zhou et al., 2022 ). Primarily, the boar sperm was fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde for 1 h, then air-dried and spread on the slides covered with poly-L-lysine.…”

“…The protocol for the analysis of fecal microbiota was reported in our previous study ( Zhou et al., 2022 ) ( n = 9 per group).…”